REFLECT
Professional Military Education is PT for the Brain
by Chris Johnson “The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by cowards and its thinking done by fools.” – Lt. Gen. Sir William Francis...
Confessions of a Fixed-Mindset Leader
By Brandon Frei “I have not failed once… When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” -Thomas Edison The Army I grew up in was full of leaders who were rewarded for accomplishing the...
The Most Thoughtful Way to Gift a Book in the Military
On an upcoming episode of the From the Green Notebook Podcast, Joe asks former SEAL and best-selling author Jack Carr about what book played a large role in influencing him as a leader during his time in uniform. Jack shared that Once an Eagle by...
Your Biggest Barrier to Clear Thinking Under Stress: Bolstering
By Jared Massie Stress can be a double-edged sword for leaders. It can heighten awareness and prompt decisive actions, but too much has the potential to paralyze, cloud judgment, and impede logical reasoning. When our stressors seem too weighty for...
Don’t Lose Yourself in Your Service: Why I Couldn’t Stay in the Navy
By Marina Muenster A few months ago, I wore my Navy uniform for the last time. In total, I spent nearly 10 years in the service, first as a midshipman at the Naval Academy and then as a Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer. I am often asked why I left...
The 10 COMMANDments: A Company Command Team’s Reflections
by Dan Kinney and John Singharath Regardless of branch, commanding a unit is one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever have as an officer or senior NCO—it’s also one of the most rewarding. With anything in the Army, it’s been done before and there’s a...
Make Combat Arms Fit Again
by Michael E. Pittman While serving as a basic training drill sergeant for incoming infantry soldiers at Fort Moore, Georgia, I saw a steady decline in overall fitness. In the past, trainees were easily able to pass the 1-1-1 assessment (1 minute...
The Oath of Commissioned Officers Demands We Pursue Perfection
by Christian A. Dionisio For the vast majority of Americans, the relentless pursuit of perfection is completely unreasonable, even irrational. In the profession of arms, however, the relentless pursuit of perfection is illuminated in our oath,...
The Most Neglected Path to Leader Growth: Self-Development
by Brian McDonough Arguably one of the most discussed but neglected concepts among Army Leaders is one’s self-development. Every day leaders must balance responsibilities to their organization, their soldiers, their families, and themselves....
Soldiers With Stripes: A Perspective On Junior NCOs
By James Duncan Recently, I engaged a trusted squad leader for some much-needed feedback. I wanted to know his perspective on the state of the company: what are we doing well and where do we need a course correction? After several minutes, the NCO...
Don’t Look the Part, Be the Part
by Oren Abusch In the early spring of 2020, my Battalion ran a two-week marksmanship course. Each day, NCOs would go to the range to hone their shooting skills and, on one particular range day, I noticed an NCO kitted in the most expensive...
Information Quality’s Outsized Effect on Decision-Making
by Jack Hadley and Addison McLamb We all know bad decisions when we see them. For example, the commander who can’t ‘decide’ to stop talking at Friday formation, the NCO so entrenched in his ways he can’t accept the simple solution in front of his...
Opportunities and Applications for Executive Coaching in the Army
by BG Brett Funck It’s likely “coach, teach, and mentor” is a familiar phrase for those in the Army. However, understanding and differentiating the three items is less familiar. The Army is growing its exposure to executive coaching and...
Blind Intent and Vision-Impaired Guidance
By Joel P. Gleason Road Trips & Staff Meetings My wife and I have spent 20 years having the same discussion on road trips. As dinner approaches and the kids get hungry, we agree that we should stop at a restaurant but, as we drive past...
The Cornerstone of Our Profession
By Marc Meybaum As we raise our right hand, our oath is expected to be, and must be, an honest commitment to serve. Honesty is called forth in the very first act of every military service member in our modern volunteer force. It is our first act of...
Two Steps to Being a Good Teammate
by Tom Dull Unique to the military profession is that, upon entrance, the servicemember is instantly accepted and considered part of the team. Whether a scout team, infantry company, or brigade staff, soldiers are always a member of a team (and...
Enduring
by Hannah Wentland For a long time I have struggled to write or even share my thoughts. The first notion inhibiting me is always, “Who am I to write something worth knowing?” I fear I lack the credibility to sit at the table and champion my voice:...
Leading into the Future: Why You Should Write a Thesis at CGSC
by Benjamin Van Horrick To the incoming class, welcome to Fort Leavenworth and the United States Army Combined Arms Center Command and General Staff College (CGSC). You are embarking on the most pivotal—and certainly not the easiest—year of your...
10 Rules to Live by on Social Media for Those who Serve
by Orlandon Howard “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” – King Solomon (1010-931 BCE) It’s easy to make mistakes when communicating regularly on social media....
The One Thing Series: Seeing the Best in People
by Brad Ruttman It was very difficult to choose the one thing I wish I knew before taking command. After 8 years of operational and strategic level command, there are so many. However, there is one in particular that I never thought that I would...
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Getting the Word Out: 10 Ways to Bolster Your Unit’s PAO and Make Your Unit Better
by Kevin Sandell Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series focused on improving your unit’s communication efforts through your Public Affairs Office. The second part of this series will be published later this spring....
Leader Development in the National Guard: Overcoming Obstacles and Intentionally Developing Others
by Jakob Hutter Our world is diverse and ever changing. As such, organizational leaders must be able to effectively deal with changes that can influence the organization’s current systems and processes. For the Army, developing leaders involves a...
Heading to a Joint Assignment? Complete Phase II of Joint Professional Military Education (JPME)
by Thang Q. Tran It is an exciting time of the year as Assignment Officers and Detailers notify individuals of their upcoming assignments. A select group of field grade officers from across the Department of Defense will get assigned to a position...
War on a Budget: What Can the S-8 Do for Your Team?
by Henoch Gassner A relatively late addition to the Brigade Combat Team (BCT), the Resource Management (RM) staff, or S-8, enables the brigade commander to make informed decisions on how to maximize lethality by executing their budget. Although the...
Garrison Command: Lessons Learned as a Strategic Leader
By Chad R. Foster This might not be the outcome you expected or wanted. You might be shocked, excited, disappointed, or angry – perhaps all four at once. Regardless of what you know (or think you know), you are going to find that Garrison Command...
Sprinting the Marathon: Lessons Learned from an Advanced Individual Training Commander
by David G. Moehling Commanding an Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Company presents unique challenges vastly different from those in conventional units. The training calendar is cyclic and repetitive, the property book is minimal, and...
Accepting Risk in a Postmodern Military: Reducing Dependency on Information Through Creative and Critical Thinking
by Marc Meybaum The radio squawks to life, a message flashes on the screen in front of you, and your cell phone vibrates on the dash. As you sit in your vehicle during a field training exercise you cannot escape the seemingly endless requests for...
Faithful and True: Lessons Learned at Combined Resolve XVI
by Samuel “Joe” Nirenberg During the past nine months, I was fortunate to command 1-5 FA while it served as a part of the rotational ABCT in support of Atlantic Resolve. Up front, I will say that the Atlantic Resolve mission allows...
Do We Disdain Intellectual NCOs?
By Chris Melendez Former officer and scholar James Joyner critiqued anti-intellectualism within the U.S. military. Opinions will diverge on Joyner’s assessment on whether such bias exists or whether an ideal balance can be struck between the...
The Garrison Command Sergeant Major
By James Brasher You have been waiting for months and, finally, the Centralized Selection List (CSL) results are published. You have been wondering which brigade you are going to assume responsibility for. You open up the CSL, see your name, and...
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